2017 Speakers

MASTER OF CEREMONIES

​​Abigail Kennedy

Abigail Kennedy (’18) will earn her bachelor’s and master’s degree in English, focusing on Creative Writing, with minors in History and Latin American Studies and a certification in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). She performs with The Coda Conduct, a co-ed a cappella group, W.O.R.D.S. (Writers Organized to Represent Diverse Stories), and the national Penn State CUPSI (College Union Poetry Slam Invitation) team. She coauthored the children’s book, Madam President: Five Women Who Paved the Way, to promote the influential lives and careers of women who have run for the Presidency. She is thrilled to return to the State of State conference this year as the host.

FACULTY/COMMUNITY SPEAKERS

Paul Clifford

Paul Clifford is the chief executive officer of the Penn State Alumni Association and associate vice president for alumni relations for Penn State. He is the organization’s 11th chief executive in its 146-year history and began his tenure in January 2016. Clifford guides Penn State’s alumni relations strategy; oversees engagement initiatives with the Alumni Association’s 176,000+ members and 315 affiliate groups; leads a 70-member staff; and manages the Alumni Association’s broad range of programs, benefits, services, and resources, including a $12.5 million annual operating budget. Clifford has spent his entire career in the alumni relations field and has broad national experience. Clifford earned his bachelor of arts degree in History from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in 1996. Prior to his service at the University of Oregon, he was associate vice chancellor for alumni relations at East Carolina University and the president and CEO of the East Carolina Alumni Association—positions he held from 2004–2014. A native of Conyngham, Pa., Clifford and his wife Jennefer have three children: Aidan, Avery and Abbey.

During the past 25 years, Dr. Robert Orndorff has worked as a Career Development Manager and Career Coach in Higher Education. Bob is currently the Senior Director of Career Services for Penn State and an Affiliate Associate Professor in Counselor Education, teaching graduate-level courses in career counseling and management. Dr. Orndorff also serves as a trainer for the Center for Workplace Learning & Performance, leading professional development seminars for Penn State faculty and staff. In addition to working in higher education, Dr. Orndorff is a career and interpersonal consultant in the education, business, and government sectors. Bob has written and published numerous books and articles in Career Development, Character Education, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Bob is also a frequent presenter and keynote speaker at regional and national conferences. In the State College community, Bob is active as a little league basketball, football, and baseball coach and a thought-piece columnist on Fathering for the Centre Daily Times.

Doug Goodstein’srole within the Sustainability Institute is to coordinate with internal and external campus partners to create a robust student-centered co-curricular experience with on and off-campus sustainability projects. Doug serves as the primary contact within the Institute for Student Affairs working closely with Student Activities, Residence Life, Educational Equity, Global Programs, the Office of Physical Plant, Housing and Food Services. As a sustainability focused professional his mission is to ensure that every student understands how social and environmental issues manifest themselves and have the tools to create a more socially just and verdant future. Doug holds an undergraduate degree is in Biology from Franklin Pierce College and Master’s of Education specializing in Higher Education Administration from Springfield College. He is currently a candidate for a second Master’s in Sustainability Management at Harvard University.

Kelly Mroz graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Law, and practiced law in Erie, Pennsylvania for 13 years before moving to State College. She now serves as director of Student Legal Services. A Penn State alumna (BA, German Studies '96), she loved living in vibrant State College as a student and is thrilled to be a part of this community again.She enjoys finding connections between community needs and available resources. While a member of the Junior League of Erie, she led award-winning projects on domestic violence prevention, infant health education and childhood nutrition. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and the Center for Alternatives in Community Justice, and chairs the Student Affairs United Way fundraising effort.

Erik Foley is the Director of Sustainability at Smeal and Director of Learning and Development in Executive Education. Erik is responsible for executive education programs in sustainability as well as working with faculty, students, staff, alumni and external partners to integrate sustainability into all aspects of the business school. Before coming to Smeal, Erik was the Managing Director at Penn State's Sustainability Institute, the mission of which is to integrate sustainability across all major functions of the university: research, teaching, outreach and operations. He was helped establish the institute and write the university's first Sustainability Strategic Plan. He has the unique perspective of understanding the business imperative for sustainability as well as the deep ecological and social dimensions to human decision-making. A skilled leader, educator, writer and strategist, Erik has been on the front lines of sustainability for two decades with on-the-ground experience from rural Paraguay to the Alaskan bush to the inner city to work with over 20 companies.

Chris Buchignani​Chris Buchignani came to the Nittany Valley to attend Penn State and chose to remain here and make State College his home. Chris works as a marketing consultant and lives in Patton Township with his wife and daughter. In 2012, he helped found The Nittany Valley Society, a non-profit cultural conservancy dedicated to preserving and sharing the region’s unique character and spirit. He currently serves as the group’s president. He is also vice president of the Student Media Association Alumni Interest Group and vice president of the State College Area School District Foundation as well as a member and director of the State College Evening Rotary Club. He is co-author of the upcoming book, “Back to Camelot: The Improbable Story of the 2005 Nittany Lions.”

Lee Erickson​Lee Erickson, Chief Amplifier, Happy Valley LaunchBox. Lee spends her days downtown at the LaunchBox providing business advice and connecting startups to the resources, experts, and support they need to de-risk their business and accelerate their entry to market. Prior to LaunchBox, Lee received her Ph.D. from the College of IST in 2012, then spent 3 years teaching and building entrepreneurship courses and pitch events – the mHealth and IdeaMaker Challenges. Prior to Penn State, Lee was co-founder and CEO of Erickson Barnett, a full-service marketing agency specializing in B2B technology marketing. Co-founded in 1997, EB was one of the first internet marketing companies in the Washington D.C. area. At Erickson Barnett, she worked with 100’s of new tech startups, as well as some of the largest venture capital firms in the world.

STUDENT SPEAKERS

Terry Ford

Terry Ford serves as the Student Body President through the University Park Undergraduate Association. He represents students before various governing bodies, including the Penn State Board of Trustees and the State College Borough Council. Among other responsibilities, Ford serves as the Chairman of the newly created University Park Student Fee Board and is ultimately responsible for the successful execution of all UPUA initiatives and programming efforts. A senior Accounting major with a minor in History, his talk will highlight the importance of student civic engagement, voting, and participation in our local community.

Nathan Larkin​Nathan Larkin is a senior in the Schreyer Honors College double majoring in Communication Arts & Sciences and Economics. He is the President and a co-founder of the environmental justice-based student organization, Fossil Free PSU, for which he received a Stand Up Award. Nathan is also involved with the College Democrats and was previously a writer and columnist for the Daily Collegian. Nathan hopes to start a conversation about how Penn State can become an even greater force for good through socially responsible investing -- particularly, fossil fuel divestment.

Maria Aguilar Walls is a senior studying Rehabilitation and Human Services. She is the founder of Penn State Wings, a fellowship club and mentorship program for students with disabilities and student advocates of disability. Advocating for students with disabilities is her greatest joy, and she has been featured in Penn State’s “All In” Campaign, the National Autism Conference, and the Pennsylvania Community on Transition Conference. Maria is also a Resident Assistant in North Halls and is a member of the National Residence Hall Honorary. Currently, she is completing an internship at Easter Seals Child Development Center, where she is working with children with and without disabilities. Maria plans to pursue a career in Higher Education, through which she will work to make universities more diverse and inclusive to students of all backgrounds.

Madeline Strasser is a senior studying International Politics and minoring in Business and the Liberal Arts. In 2016 she served as the Panhellenic President and currently serves on the board of a community service organization, Rebuild-U. Madeline will be talking about the role and responsibility on-campus students have in the downtown community of State College.

Hayly Hoch is a senior studying plant sciences with a specialization in agro-ecology and minors in horticulture, international agriculture, and sustainability leadership. She has worked alongside countless campus and community leaders over the past two and half years to establish the Student Farm as a part of the Sustainable Food Systems Program. As a co-founder and co-director of the Student Farm Club, she oversees advocacy and outreach efforts on local, regional, and global food and ag issues.

Jaden Rankin-Wahlers is a Senior double majoring in Political Science and Criminology with a Minor in Religious Studies. She has worked hard in the past few years to support students in poverty through Project Cahir and the Lion's Pantry. She received a Stand Up Award for her work with these organizations. One of her main focuses is overcoming stigmas associated with student homelessness. Today she is here to present on behalf of these brave students she works so hard to help.

Will Quaranta is a senior from Bedford Village, NY, studying Enterprise Risk Management with a minor in Economics. Will served as the 2016 President and the 2015 Vice President for Recruitment of the Penn State Interfraternity Council (IFC), the governing body of the largest fraternity system in the nation. Will has also been a Brother of Acacia Fraternity since 2013. His presentation will discuss the dynamic between students and long-term residents in the Borough of State College, and how these relationships are critical to the wellbeing of the Penn State Community.

Anthony Pinter (PSU ’15) is a graduate student in the College of Information Sciences and Technology studying inclusion and discrimination in marginalized groups online. He is a delegate in GPSA, serves as the GPSA liaison to Movin’ On, and plans on pursuing his doctorate at the conclusion of his Penn State career. Anthony will be talking about how undergraduate and graduate students often have different Penn State experiences, and how we might begin changing this paradigm to foster a more inclusive Penn State community.